Sick beardie stopped eating! HELP!

[onthefritz]

Kind of long but I don't know where else to turn.... A month ago I took in a rescue beardie (his story can be found on under the rescues forum under Hoggle The Rescue Beardie).

Hes been to the vet twice and put on two different antibiotics. I dont know what the first was but the second was 5 days of Baytril via injection once a day. His last shot was on Sunday afternoon. He has slowly lost his appetite over the last two weeks and now he will not eat at all. Could it be because the baytril is still in his system? Ive been told that can make them go off food.

In a normal healthy beardie, not eating or eating less over a 2 week span wouldn't be a big deal. However, this guy is emaciated form his previous owners. He was only 347g when I got him a month ago and now he is 327g He is a 19mo old male beardie who should be around 425-450g.

My vet has told me that he doesn't know what else to do for him and that the rest is really up to his will to fight. He did however say that he doesnt think we should give up on him yet. He thinks we should give him another 5-7 days to see if he'll start eating on his own again.

His color and skin condition looks much better after being on the Baytril. He's still active when I get him out and is drinking and pooping. His poop doesn seem runny (although its kind of hard to tell because he only poops in his bath). I have been mixing the Zilla Caloric supplement with some squash baby food to syringe feed him but he really doesn't want to eat it. I am waiting on my Carnivore Care to get here Saturday to start.

I've grown very attached to this little guy and will fight as long as he will. I just don't want him to suffer anymore if he is dying. He's been through so much already and I just want to provide him with love. Ive been upset about it all day. I can't imagine losing him now after he's come so far.

Does anybody have any advice or tricks that they can share to help me encourage him to eat?

 

[haileytaco]

So sorry to hear about you're little guy. Could you give a basic run down of your cage set up:
Temps: cool side, warm side, basking spot
Lights: types and brands
Food: what you have tried feeding
Current supplements
Also, how often are you bathing? And are you able to attach a photo or two of him?

 

[onthefritz]

I will try to attach some pictures tomorrow from my computer. I can't get them from my phone on here tonight.

He's in a 40 gal and has one 120w mega ray bulb that puts his favorite basking spot from 97-110 depending on which colors you aim the gun on his branch. His cooler end had a 75w Zoo Med bulb that kept that end around 80-85 on the ground and around 85-90 in his hammock nearby. That bulb went out today so he currently has a powersun bulb there until I can get his new bulb Saturday morning. The front part of his tank stays at 76 and at night his lights go off and we leave our thermostat at 65

The first week he was home he was loving the dubia and supers I had. He preferred dubia but didn't object the supers by any means. He loves his horned worms too. When he wont eat anything else he normally takes one or two horned worms. However this week he's only taken one. He has no interest in the supers or dubia. He hasn't touhed a green since I brought him home but I do leave some rainbow chard available at all times.

I have some repashy calcium plus and repti cal that I switch out but he hasn't had any in the last week because he won't eat his bugs.

Our vet said that 320g is rather dangerous for him and he's at 327g as of this morning. Tonight I got him to swallow about 10cc of the baby food and calorie supplement.

He has healing sores from his infection that he came with so I've been bathing him each night to help clean them. Plus, the only time he drinks is in a bath and he seems to always want a drink. I figured if he wasn't eating at least he's drinking and I try to make it available at least twice a day.

 

[onthefritz]

Here is a link to his discussion with his whole story and some pictures of him from last week before or last get visit.

I'll try to get some new ones loaded tomorrow!

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=214907

 

[haileytaco]

Hello,

I just viewed the forum link you provided. That is amazing that you are generous enough to rescue such a beardie in need. Your setup sound pretty spot on but what UVB source do you have? Also, daily baths are awesome and you could even bump them up to 2-3 times a day as dehydration could cause lack of appetite. Keep offering greens and feeder insects. Have you tried any other types of feeders: crickets, wax worms, Phoenix worms, etc.? It wouldn't hurt to try bearded dragon pellets (the fruity kind that you moisten in water to make them soft). Also, be sure that his enclosure is in a calm, stress free environment. Keep up on offering food and baths and hopefully he gets better. I lost a beardie afew months back and he was constantly struggling with loss of appetite and the above tips were what temporarily helped him. I'm sorry I a cannot offer any more help but unfortunately beardies can be hard to read sometimes and we must leave the rest up to them to decide their fate. I hope things work out well for your little guy. Please update when possible and let me know how he's doing.

Hailey

 

[SDragon]

I'd be careful not to overdo the bathing multiple times a day, imo it can also cause some stress and often lower the dragons body temp which may not increase his appetite. I'd try feeding him first then offering water or bathing as well to make sure he has appetite.

I'd be worried about his gut flora having been wiped out by the meds so introducing a non dairy probiotic would seem like a good idea.

In terms of the wound, was it the vets advise to keep bathing it? It's not something I have experience of personally.

 

[onthefritz]

His UVB is the MagaRay mercury vapor bulb. I am going to get some was worms and see if he'll try those this weekend with the carnivore care.

When he started his first bout of antibiotics the vet told me not to bathe him so that the wounds would dry. Since his last visit he told me that I could bathe him as much as needed to keep him hydrated as well as help the dry scabs fall off of the wounds. He had months worth of stuck shed as well so the bathing helps with that too. He doesn't seem to stress over it. His beard doesn't change colors and he pancakes up to float and closes his eyes.

what kind of things can I get him to help with his gut? Should I mix it in with his concoction that I've been syringe feeding?

I want him to pull through this so badly. He's come so far from his initial rescue. I just want to be able to provide him with a happy and healthy life.

 

[SDragon]

I'm not suggesting don't bathe him, but also not to do it 2-3 times a day as was being suggested. I'd still be tempted to try feeding first. Will he also drink from a dropper?

For a probiotic Acidophilus will work, but you'd need to check on dosage. in the past I used an avian product, the name of which is escaping me but I'm sure your vet could advise. I've never liked the idea of using enriched soy yoghurt, but I have no basis for that and many other people are fine with it. Just avoid any dairy source.

 

[CooperDragon]

The Acidophiliz+ will work when mixed in with the food syringe as long as the whole syringe is eaten. The dosage is 3 drops per day. You can also offer bene-bac (bird and reptile formula) at 1g (one notch on the syringe) every third day. I've found it easy to break a q-tip in half and put the dose on the handle portion of the q-tip and feed it that way. I can often just put the whole dose in my dragon's mouth while it's open, making it pretty easy.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

I hope he is feeling better soon.
Definitely try to get some acidophiliz or the benebac to help with her system since he has been on meds for awhile. Those really do help.
How close is the Megaray to him & is it a 100 or 160watt bulb?
The carnivore care will help support his nutrition. You can even mix some chicken or turkey baby food in with it for more flavor too.
Be sure to keep him around 80 overnight to help boost his immune system also.
Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie

 

[onthefritz]

His MegaRay bulb is a 100w and is about 8in from his basking spot. I ordered some of Beth Greathouse's probiotics for him. She was supposed to overnight it to us but I guess she accidentally did 2 day shipping on Friday which means it won't be here until Monday afternoon. For now she told me to get some all Natural probiotics made for people to give him until they arrive.

I also brought some chicken baby food to mix with his squash for protein. His critical care just arrived and I will be mixing some of that with his food later as well.

Here's ab update on him:
Thursday night was pretty rough for him. I found him on the bottom of his tank lying in super runny poop. He was very lethargic and i didn't expect him to make it. I slept in the bedroom he stays in to check on him through the night and he pulled through. He got his first meal with probiotics yesterday evening and another this morning. Last night he ate about 10cc of the baby food mixture and this morning he ate a solid 10cc. Hes not eating on his own and doesn't seem to like syringe feeding but he does swallow it and at this point he can't afford for me to not force feed him.

As stated, Thursday night he had an extremely runny bowel movement. It was mostly a dark green with his white urates. Friday he had another movement around noon which was still very funny and almost completely clear. Today he's has two small poops and they're both runny but has a bunch of green stuff smeared in with it again. I'm hoping thats a good sign but I don really know and our vet is out of town.

He's still drinking in his baths and I've added pedalyte to them to help his electrolytes stay up. He seems much more responsive today than he has since Thursday but you can still tell that he doesn't feel good. Hopefully the probiotics will start to help him.

Thanks for everyone's help!

 

[onthefritz]

Just thought that I would update everyone on Hoggle.

Last Wednesday morning I had to make the hardest decision of my life so far and took him to the vet to help him on his way and end his suffering. He had stopped accepting food via syringe on Monday night and by Tuesday morning he had a bunch of new abscesses show up all over his body. There was just more infection than his little body could handle and he became septic.

I am so sad and angry for him. I can't believe that someone allowed that wonderful little guy to end up in the condition he came to us in. He fought to the very end and is now buried in front of my barn so the sun can hit him bright and early each morning.

 

[SDragon]

I'm really sorry he couldn't make it. You should be proud of giving him a chance and putting his welfare first to the end.

 

[haileytaco]

Hello,

I'm so sorry to hear about your beardie. I lost one of mine a few months back so I know how terrible it is when a little guy passes away. Just know that you gave him the best chance possible and that he put up a good fight. Though I know it must have felt terrible taking him in to the vet, it was the best decision you could have made for him. May he rest in peace.

Hailey